Upon the blurry pink figure's arrival, a grating chattering noise resonated in the chambers.
Kole's heart skipped a beat.
The mural vanished instantly, and the bullet approaching the shadow paused mid-air.
Slowly, the noise died down.
Only the five figures remained in the room with pink walls.
"W…h…y…?" The pink figure spoke in a slur, but it was still coherent.
The blurry figure slowly stepped forward.
She looked like a lady clothed in a pink dress. A pink veil covered her face along with the pink soft hat on top of her pink hair.
Even the skin, eyes, and all the features that normal human beings have, were pink!
Everything was so pink that Kole believed he might get a seizure if he kept looking at her.
He wondered briefly if he cut open her skin, would he see pink blood?... Musing internally, Kole shook his head and focused on the words spoken by the pink lady.
She can actually speak? Does she also have a coin of Gradoz? And what does she mean by 'why'?... Thoughts clashed rapidly in Kole's mind.
Seeing the lady's eyes on the black shadow, Kole's bewilderment grew exponentially.
What is happening here?
When the lady in pink didn't get any response from the shadow bathed in silver whip marks, she stretched her hand forward as pink ashes whirled around her.
Pushing her hand forward, the pink ashes gently spread to the black shadow…
Ryan sensibly stepped back.
He could tell the lady was a powerhouse and appeared too strange.
Also, since the lady wasn't hostile yet, there was no need to fight her!
The pink ashes spun around the black shadow, and the silver marks rapidly faded.
Still, the vertical emerald eyes of the shadow appeared hazy…
"Wh…y? Morris…?" She murmured gently.
Hearing the name, Ryan and Kole narrowed their eyes.
The shadow was actually Morris Turner?!
Getting no response, the pink figure fished a pink out from her clothes and gently twirled it between her pink fingers.
It seemed to have resonated with the pink coin in the shadow's hands, as the shadow holding the coin, regained some clarity in its eyes.
Despite the clarity, the sanity of the shadow was questionable.
It growled in the air as it slowly wobbled up on its feet, looking like a bloodthirsty creepy devil.
When its gaze landed on Ryan, it was filled with extreme hostility.
However, Ryan had wisely chosen to step back long ago as he focused on the pink lady who gave him more dangerous vibes than the mindless shadow.
"Morris… Dear? Wh…y?"
The pink lady's words attracted the dark shadow's attention.
It snarled at her with a loud shriek.
Almost on instinct, it dashed towards the lady with its claws wide open, ready to tear her apart.
But when he reached her, she opened her arms and welcomed the attack with open arms.
Seeing this, the vertical pupils of the shadow returned to circular ones like that of a human.
The shadow suddenly stopped in its track as if stuck by a bolt of lightning.
Dear?... Could this be Alice's Mother? But wasn't she dead like two decades ago… then how come?... Kole's thoughts churned rapidly as he concluded:
She is dead in the Real world, not the SubconciousGulf!
This Mind Palace could be hers!
No wonder it had images of baby Alice and not a grown one because she never got the opportunity to see her develop! And the same goes for the young Morris Turner!
As soon as he reached this conclusion, Kole could feel his blood boiling.
Were the secrets to solving the erosion of time lay in the SubconciousGulf?
Even if it didn't, Kole knew this world had many mysteries, and he would be able to reach his goal if he kept trying!
"I—" The shadow made a disgruntled noise as it tried to concentrate on speaking.
Kole's mouth hung open wide.
Is this really Viscount Turner? How did he become like this?
"I…" The shadow opened its arms wide as it stepped forward toward the pink lady in an attempt to hug her.
When he moved, multiple emerald, green vertical eyeballs opened on its shadowy figure, which was too repulsive to look at that even Kole felt a sense of nausea.
Seeing this, the lady twirled the pink coin in her fingers again.
It resonated with the coin in the shadow's hands, turning the green shade of the eyes appearing on the shadow's body to pink ones.
Many pink eyes with vertical pupils spread throughout the shadow's body making it look like an eldritch horror.
This was a sort of Corruption!
However, this corruption that was spread forth by the pink lady actually helped Viscount Turner to gain his footing.
"Why…?" The pink lady asked again.
Shaking its head, the shadow opened its mouth and started muttering.
After trying a few times, and clenching the pink coin in his fist tightly, it muttered contently, as tears of corruption colored in pink seeped from its eyes, "I sacrificed myself… on this path of no return… To achieve Greatness…"
"For me…" The shadow muttered as its dark lips trembled, pink tears kept flowing on its dark cheeks, "Greatness is reuniting with love…"
!!!
It wasn't difficult for Ryan and Eleanor to put two and two together.
According to the information they had, Count Moore had died in the hands of Viscount.
But he must have a purpose to kill.
The reason was evident seeing the pink coin in Viscount's hands, which should have been the trigger for the murder.
It was not only a Cursed Artifact with tremendous power but also a key to locate his dead wife's Mind Palace where her slumbering consciousness lay!
However, it didn't come without any consequences!
To reunite with his love, that had died two decades ago, Viscount Turner became corrupted to enter and live in the SubconciousGulf!
Not only Ryan and Eleanor were startled after connecting the dots, but even Kole had his mouth hung open, and his throat went dry.
Even though Kole didn't know about Count Moore's murder, he could guess the rest with ease.
Such a stupid concept can make a well-reputed Viscount like Morris Turner into a brainless fool!... Kole sighed inwardly.
He briefly considered whether he would become such a monster to find his dead wife from his past life… and the answer that came to his mind made him smile wryly.
He couldn't do it.
For him — his goals came first!
He could feel the change in his own mentality, especially after unraveling the name of his <
He had become too goal-oriented, and everything else became a second priority for him!
Maybe, his psyche was already being affected by the rapid increase in his strength…
Kole shook his head to derail the out-of-control train of thoughts.
"You… look… like… a… monster…" The lady didn't flinch from the shadow's hug as she murmured gently while hugging him.
Pink embers floated in the air, covering their forms.
"I… No, we all have always been… monsters… since the day we stepped on… this path of power…"
Morris Turner's indiscernible shadowy face became relaxed, his tone growing calmer in the arms of his beloved.
"We are all… Monsters!"